Found by Evangeline Anderson

Author:Evangeline Anderson [Anderson, Evangeline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evangeline Anderson
Published: 2011-10-07T20:53:36+00:00

Chapter Twenty-two

“Good morning.” Nadiah smiled as Sylvan came into the dining area. She and Sophia were already up and enjoying a traditional Earth breakfast. Well, traditional to Sophia’s part of Earth, anyway. Apparently different regions of the planet had different cuisines.

Nadiah wasn’t a big fan of the yellow fluffy stuff the mate of her kin had called scrambled eggs—they had a strange texture. But there were thin crispy slices of something called bacon that were salty and delicious. Also, there was a warm, crunchy kind of bread with sweet, sticky berry spread on it that was wonderful.

But best of all, in Nadiah’s opinion, was the bright orange juice squeezed from a fruit—it tasted like liquid sunshine, tart and sweet and utterly delicious. Sophia had offered her white liquid called ‘milk’ as well, but Nadiah had turned it down. She’d already been warned by Baird that it came from a skin bag between a large Earth animal’s legs. Apparently, the bag was squeezed and the white fluid came jetting out. Ugh! It sounded every bit as disgusting as fleeta pudding to Nadiah, who had never been fond of her native dish.

“Good morning.” Sylvan smiled at them both. He kissed Sophia on the cheek and Nadiah on the top of her head before seating himself at the table. “I see you two are finally up.”

“What do you mean ‘finally up?’” Sophia protested. “I’ve been up for ages making you this yummy breakfast. Where were you, anyway?”

“In the viewing room,” Sylvan said, pouring himself a tall glass of the orange juice. “I had a very interesting call to attend to.”

“Oh, was it that annoying Detective Rast?” Sophia asked eagerly. “Did you give him a piece of your mind?”

Nadiah frowned. “How would you do that? With some kind of telepathy?”

“No, it just means to tell someone off,” Sophia explained. She looked at Sylvan. “So did you? Tell him off?”

“I didn’t get a chance,” Sylvan said mildly. “He wasn’t the one who called.” He looked at Nadiah. “It was your parents. And they were very unhappy. Is it true you left your home on the day you and Yo-dah were to be mated?”

“Well…yes.” Suddenly the orange juice tasted sour and flat. Nadiah put down her glass and sighed. “But Sylvan, if you could see him. He’s just so skinny and scrawny and whiny and…and so not Kindred.”

“You have a blood bond with him though.” Sylvan gave her a stern look. “That is not a commitment to be taken lightly.”

“Surely you’re not telling her to go back home and marry a man she doesn’t love?” Sophia scooted closer to Nadiah and put an arm around her shoulders. “I mean, they betrothed her to this guy when she was a little girl—she didn’t even have any choice in the matter.”

“That is how things are done on my planet,” Sylvan said, frowning. “I was betrothed to Feenah. We didn’t have a blood bond but the engagement between us was sacred. If she had not broken it, I would have mated her.

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